Tray for fragile articles



Nov. 19, 1957 w. E. PARSONS 2,813,652

TRAY FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed May 28, 1953 s Sheets-Sheet 1 mmvrox. WAL L AC E E. PARSONS W? WATTORN S 1957 w. E. PARSONS TRAY FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 28, 1953 INVENTOR. WALLACE EPA/MOMS H/S ATTORNEYS 1957 w. E. PARSONS 2,813,652

TRAY FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed May 28, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. WALLACE E. PARSONS H/S ATTORNEYS 1957 w. E. PARSONS TRAY FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 28, 1953 mmvrom E. PARSONS WALLACE Nov. 19, 1957 w. E. PARSONS TRAY FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 28, 1953 5 05 5 5 5 m W mm .L E C A L m W HIS ATTORNEYS United States Patent t TRAY FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Wallace E. Parsons, Waterville, Maine, assignortoKeyes Fibre Company, Portland, Maine, a corporation of a e Application May as, 1953, Serial No. 358,149

4 Claims. (Cl. 217-265) reference being made to the accompanying drawings wherein: I Fig. l is a partially broken away perspective view of a compactly packed assembly of article-carrying trays pursuant to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the trays of -v Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modified form of tray, with another tray below it;

Fig. 4is a partially broken away view similar to Fig. 1 of a further modified form of tray and assembly illustrative of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the tray arrangement of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a corner ofone tray in the assembly of Fig. 4; and Fig. -7 is a plan view. of still further tray assembly modification embodying the present invention. Trays of the general type described above are shown in U. S. Patent No. 1,970,436 granted to E. L. Shepard on. August 14, 1934, and U. S. Patent Des. 124,413 granted to E. L. Shepard on December 31, 1940. These trays are'generally rectangular and have their pockets and posts arranged in rows and columns spaced more from one margin of the tray than from another so that the rows and columns of two or more stacked trays are compactly arranged in ofiset relation when the successive trays are in rotated position with respect to each other.

According to the present invention, such trays are provided with distinctively colored markings on one side of a row or between two rows of pockets to indicate their rotational position and in this way to greatly facilitate their packing.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is here shown a packing container in the form of an egg crate 10 having two compartments 12 and 14, and made of strips of wood suitably nailed together. Each compartment is dimensioned to receive a column of egg trays 20, one of which is more clearly shown in Fig. 2. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the tray has a mutiplicity of depressed pockets22 and'raised posts '24. Pockets 22 are shaped to'receive the lower portionof an egg, while posts 24 are essentially inverted pockets so that they will fit over the upper half of an egg.

This tray is similar to the one shown in the abovementioned Patent No. 1,907,436, and has five rowsof pockets identified as 31, 32, 33, 34, 35. Each row contains six pockets so that looking transversely at the rows there are six columns of pockets. All the pockets are substantially equally spaced from each other, but the marginal columns are each closer to the margins of the trays than the marginal rows 31, 35.

The posts 24 are distributed like the pockets except that the posts are in five columns 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, each having six posts so that there are six rows of posts. Each row of posts is in alignment with a marginal half post at each of the two opposite edges of the tray; these half-posts forming opposite marginal columns 46. The other two edges of the tray are provided with rows of half-pockets indicated at 47.

By placing a tray 20 in a compartment, as shown in Fig. 1, a group of 30 eggs can be received in its pockets 22. A second tray 50 can then be placed over the first tray; If the second tray is rotated 90 in its plane, the posts of the second tray will fit over and receive the tops of the 30 eggs packed in the lower tray. The bottoms of the pockets 22 of the upper tray will then rest upon the tops of-the posts 24 of the lower tray, and an additional group of 30 eggs can be received in the pockets of the upper tray. The upper group of eggs will be offset from and extend down to a level below the tops of the lower group of eggs. This arrangement is very compact and can be repeated for any number of layers, due precaution being taken to rotate each tray 90 with respect to the tray below it. The eifectof the compact ing is such that six layers of eggs can be fitted in the height that would otherwise only admit five layers of eggs when the trays are not offset. 1

A feature of the present invention is that distinctively colored marks, such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 at 60 on the tops of the central column of posts 43 provide an outstanding, unmistakable indicator of the manner in which the tray is oriented. In fact, the markings are so striking that they cannot be overlooked and the orientation of the tray is accordingly made almost fool-proof.

By means of the present invention, it therefore becomes very diflicult to improperly insert the egg trays in a carton. It will be appreciated that if a prior art tray is inadvertently inserted with its orientation incorrect, the error may not be discovered until the entire crate is filled and the cover is to be put on. At that time, the fact that a column of egg-carrying trays cannot be squeezed down to the right height would show that packing is incorrect and must be redone. This 'repacking' is a fairly frequent occurrence with the prior art trays.

The coloring of the present invention is preferably as distinctive as possible. A brilliant red is ideal for this purpose, although a black, purple or even dark yellow is very suitable. Where'a red or green color'isused it should be tinged with a little orange'or purple so that it will stand out to individuals that are partiallyor com pletely color blind toward a pure red or green.

Although the markings are shown in Figs. 1 and-2 as applied to only the tops of the posts, they can also be applied in other manners such as a line extending across the entire tray. In addition, the marking need not be in the center of the tray but can be to one side or even on the very margin. A particularly desirable modification of the present in-'v vention uses a tray that has one or more marginal finger recesses as indicated at 64,'and has the markings aligned so that the ends are visible through such a recess in the tray above it. With a tray such as is shown in Fig. 2; for example, a line of such markings could be applied along one of the central rows of posts, such as the row between pockets 33 and 34 or between pockets 32 and 33.

Fig. Sillustrates this form of tray 120 and shows how the markings on a tray below it are visible from above. The markings are here shown as an uninterrupted line 160 extending transversely with respect to the markings 60 of .Fig. 2. In this way the ends of line 1-60 are not cut cit by recesses 164. In fact, the ends of the line are exposed under the recesses of an overlying tray. This tray is identical in construction with. tray 20 and has the same type of pocket and post arrangement as well as marginal half-posts 146 and marginal half-pockets 147 similar to members 46 and 47.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 show the invention in connection with a different type of egg tray 220 having six rows of six pockets each, as shown in the abovementioned patent Des. 124,413.. Here the rows and pockets are also uniformly spaced from each other, but the marginal row and column adjacent two adjacent marginal edges are further removed from these edges than are the opposite marginal row and column. Compacting is obtained in the construction of Fig. 4 by rotating one tray 180 F. in its plane with respect to the tray below it.

According to the present invention, a distinctively colored marking in the form of a line 260 is placed adjacent one margin of the tray of Figs. 4, 5, and 6. This marking is an unmistakeable indicator of the tray orientation, and the tray packing is arranged so that the marking alternates from one side to the other with successive tr ys- Here again, the individual trays can be so packed as to leave a viewing aperture through which can be seen the mark of a tray properly stacked below it. For this purpose finger-receiving recesses on opposing edges of the tray can be arranged in a manner that is not radially symmetrical with respect to the center of the tray. By way of example, Fig. 7 shows a construction having finger-receiving recesses 330 provided on one tray margin in line with at least one row of pockets, preferably some distance from the side of the tray. At the margin opposite these recesses additional finger recesses 331 can be located wherever desired except no finger recess should be applied at the end of at least one row of posts symmetrically located with respect to the pockets. Along that row of posts a positioning stripe 360 can be provided. When one such tray is placed over and rotated 180 with respect to another, the recess 330 on one side in the row of pockets will be superimposed over the opposite end of the stripe 360 on the other side of the lower tray.

According to a further phase of the present invention,

trays of the type shown in Figs. 1 and 2 can be made with A the entire face of one surface colored distinctively different from the opposite face. Such trays can be stacked for compactly packing eggs by turning one tray up-sidedown and placing it on top of another, that is by rotating the top tray 180 with respect to a medial axis. With such a packing arrangement the sharply different colors of the upper and lower surfaces of the tray give such a contrasting color appearance that inadvertent packing is just about impossible. A dark color such as red or even black on the face of the tray will be reflected by the sides of the crate in which the tray is received as well as by the eggs, so that the entire crate opening will have a distinctive colored appearance clearly indicative of the orientation in which the next tray should be placed.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope hereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments hereof except as defined in the appended claims. By way of example, although the packing arrangements are described above in connection with eggs, they can also be used with all kinds of other articles such as fruit, vegetables. etc. Furthetmore. the particular shapes o the trays are subject to wide variation.

What is claimed is:

1. A tray comprising a generally rectangular sheet having a peripheral rim defining the median plane of said sheet, a plurality of genenally frusto-conical, hollow posts extending upwardly from said median plane, said posts being arranged in rows which are parallel to one pair of edges of said sheet and in intersecting columns which are parallel to the other pair of edges of said sheet, a plurality of generally frusto-con'ica'l pockets extending downwardly from said median plane, said pockets being arranged in rows which are parallel to said rows of posts but wherein the pockets are laterally ofiset from the posts, and in intersecting columns which are parallel to said columns of posts but wherein the pockets are laterally offset from the posts, each row of pockets being positioned between a pair of rows of posts and each column of pockets being positioned between apair of columns-0f Post the mars n l row o posts on each ide of he sheet b ing paced from the corresponding portion of the peripheral rim by a parallel row of half posts each .of which is aligned h di ent column of post and the marg nal colum of posts being spaced from the corresponding portion of the peripheral rim by a parallel .column of halt-pockets each of which is offset from the adjacent posts, and an elongated indicating means extending completely across at least one surface of said tray to indicate the rotational orientation of said tray on an axis perpendicular ,to the median plane of the sheet in such manner that when two such trays, one overlying the other, are arranged in surface-to-surface alignment and rotated on their common axis to positions which are offset from one another, the pockets of one tray will overlie the posts of the other and the posts of said one tray will overlie the pockets of the other, while the indicating means on said trays will lie in relatively intersecting planes, there being a first set of spaced notches provided on each edge of said one pair of edges of said sheet and a second set of spaced notches provided on each edge of said other pair of edges, said first set of notches being laterally offset from said second set of notches when said two trays are in their overlying relationship, to permit the ends of the indicating means on the underlying tray to "be visible within a notch on the overlying tray.

2. The tray of claim 1 wherein said elongated indicating means comprises a contrastingly colored top portion on each post of an aligned series of posts.

3. The tray of claim 1 wherein said elongated indicating means comprises a continuous line of indicia positioned alongside an aligned series of pockets.

4. The tray of claim 1 wherein said indicating means is so arranged that when said two trays are not rotationally otfset from each other the indicating means on the underlying tray is not visible, whereas when they are rotationally oifset, the indicating means on the under.- lying tray is visible.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES "PATENTS 176,345 Perrine Apr. 18, 1876 334,826 Tipton I an. 26, 1886 761,254 Rosedale May 31, 1904 1,000,694 Schaefer et al Aug. 15, 1911 1,956,955 Kronenberger May 1, 1934 1,970,436 Shepard Aug. 14, 1934 2,045,771 Graham June 30, 1936 2,078,927 Dorr a, May 4, 1937 2,351,754 Friday June 20, 1944 2,524,823 Noyes .Oct. 10, 1950 2,691,456 Shepard Oct. 12, 195.4 

